Young docs hit brain surgery boot camp

1Brain (1 of 7)

Resident Sami Obaid from the University of Montreal gathers information on his "patient" via telephone during a simulation scenario. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

Resident Sami Obaid from the University of Montreal gathers information on his "patient" via telephone during a simulation scenario. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

2Brain (2 of 7)

Resident Daud Alzahrani from the university of Ottawa and Resident Sami Obaid from the University of Montreal review the patient scenario before beginning the exercise. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

Resident Daud Alzahrani from the university of Ottawa and Resident Sami Obaid from the University of Montreal review the patient scenario before beginning the exercise. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

3Brain (3 of 7)

Resident Sami Obaid from the University of Montreal inspects trauma to his "patient's" chest during a simulation scenario. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

Resident Sami Obaid from the University of Montreal inspects trauma to his "patient's" chest during a simulation scenario. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

4Brain (4 of 7)

A medical simulation doll is seen between scenarios on July 13th, 2012. The dolls have fully interactive vitals and are used to test residents knowlege of symptoms and examination. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

A medical simulation doll is seen between scenarios on July 13th, 2012. The dolls have fully interactive vitals and are used to test residents knowlege of symptoms and examination. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

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An assortment of craniotomy tools. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

An assortment of craniotomy tools. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

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Students apply a halo vest to a "patient" with a broken neck. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

Students apply a halo vest to a "patient" with a broken neck. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

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Students use pork belly to simulate the dermal layers of the scalp. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

Students use pork belly to simulate the dermal layers of the scalp. (DEVAAN INGRAHAM)

When is a grapefruit more than just a big round citrus blob?

When it takes the place of the human brain for a group of Canadian neurosurgery rookies at a medical boot camp in Halifax.

The fruit helps teach young specialists how to stop bleeding with the aid of a surgical instrument used on brains, Dr. David Clarke, the camp’s program director, said Friday.

Grapefruits, mannequins and heads removed from corpses are among the instruction tools 17 trainees are relying on during a two-day course at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre.

“We use various techniques, depending on what we’re trying to teach,” said Clarke, interim chief of neurosurgery and a medical school professor at Dalhousie University.

“We use some very low-fidelity things such as a grapefruit to teach them how to use a bipolar instrument in an operating room, to stop bleeding vessels. The grapefruit can mimic the tissues very well.”

The cadavers are the remains of people who have donated their bodies to science.

Clarke said the neurosurgery rookie camp is the first of its kind in this country. Participants are medical residents in their mid-20s, toiling in six-year training programs at various medical centres.

One resident being readied for the Atlantic region is part of the group.

The men and women undergoing training are the next generation of brain surgeons, Clarke said. So it’s crucial to identify “key learning points” and get a sense from trainees of what they feel is important to be learning as they start their specialized education, he said.

“For the first time in Canada, for any surgical specialty, we have brought together all the (doctors) who are beginning their residency training with teachers from across the country in a learning-intensive environment that we think will better equip them” for their neurosurgery careers, Clarke said.

It’s an exciting time for Dalhousie and Capital Health officials, he said, because the residents’ “first training begins in Halifax.”

Not only is it a unique opportunity to learn necessary skills, said Clarke, “we also think it’ll be better for patients they’ll be looking after.”

The camp, which ends today , gives trainees a chance to experience patient situations in a simulated environment. For example, Clarke said, a neurosurgeon might be working on a head trauma case in an emergency room and the patient’s condition deteriorates.

He said brain surgery can involve “high-stakes situations that are life-and-death situations, and decisions and management strategies have to be made and developed in a very efficient way.”

Regarding the scenario where the patient’s health is worsening, “we can address the issues of communication, management plan, and we can then move to the treatment of that patient.”

Clarke said camp instructors will be examining the students’ skill sets, both in terms of the challenging hands-on elements of the job and their people skills.

“We are looking at skills related to technical skills — how they use the instruments, how they drill holes in the skull, how they do very practical things that neurosurgeons have to do — but also communications skills.”

Clarke said these would include “how they interact with the health-care team, how they interact with patients and patients’ families.”

He said part of rookie training is to evaluate residents in a situation that produces occupational stress and give them a framework to help them cope.